Abstract
The tensile strength of a silicon nanowire (SiNW) that had been integrated into a silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-based microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device was measured using electrostatic actuation and sensing. SiNWs of about 150 nm diameter and 5 μm length were batch-fabricated into a 5-μm-thick SOI device layer. Since there was no interface between the SiNW and the MEMS device and the alignment was perfect, the SiNW integration into an SOI-MEMS was expected to be useful for developing highly sensitive biochemical sensors or highly reliable torsional mirror devices. The SiNW was tensile tested using the electrostatic MEMS testing device. The integration was achieved using a combination of anisotropic and an isotropic dry etching of silicon, with an inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching. A fabricated silicon beam of 800 nm square was thinned by a sacrificial oxidation process. The tensile strength of the wire was 2.6–4.1 GPa, which was comparable to that of microscale silicon MEMS structures. The reliability of such a thin device was successfully verified for future applications of the device structures.
Highlights
Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), which are devices with electrical circuits, mechanical components, and electro-mechanical transducers, are widely employed in various electrical systems, including those in automobile, portable, amusement, environmental, or infrastructure monitoring systems
The tensile testing of silicon nanowire (SiNW) batch-integrated into micrometer scale Si MEMS structures was
The tensile testing of SiNWs batch-integrated into micrometer scale Si MEMS structures was conducted using an electrostatic tensile testing device
Summary
Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), which are devices with electrical circuits, mechanical components, and electro-mechanical transducers, are widely employed in various electrical systems, including those in automobile, portable, amusement, environmental, or infrastructure monitoring systems. The nano-carbons (graphene [1,2], carbon nanotubes [3,4], and fullerene [5]), biomolecules (proteins [6], lipids [7,8], and nucleic acids [9,10]), and metal nanoparticles [11,12] are examples of nanoscale components that have been integrated into MEMS or microfluidic devices. They provide a new functionality, better sensitivity, and higher reliability
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